Expensive smartphone makers, please cease with the bezel-less shows

In case you choose up any smartphone today — whether or not it is an iPhone 16, a Galaxy S25, a Pixel 9, or one thing else — there is a robust probability its bezel shall be tiny or non-existent. Saying the design trait is all the fad could be an understatement, as the one means you will discover something totally different is by looking for price range fashions. As soon as the 2025 iPhone SE rolls round, you will not have a selection in any respect if you need a brand new mannequin primarily based on Apple’s platform.

For a lot of of you, bezels are in all probability a minor challenge, and I get that. However personally talking, some current incidents have referred to as consideration to the downsides of eradicating them, and I believe I am not alone in considering telephone makers ought to dial again their ambitions. Delivery a pure glass brick is not essentially an indication of progress, regardless of what glitzy PR occasions and movies would have you ever consider.

Tight grips and shut misses

Actual-world usability issues

My largest grievance in regards to the iPhone 16 Professional is not the questionable usefulness of Apple Intelligence or the Digicam Management button, however merely how straightforward it’s to set off one thing just by holding the telephone the improper means. At this level, I am unable to rely what number of occasions I’ve raised my telephone solely to note the icons shaking, which means iOS thought I used to be tapping and holding the homescreen to rearrange icons. At different occasions, I’ve launched apps and even in-app choices with out realizing it. Typically there is a haptic buzz to inform me, however typically not.

It is a little bit ironic, as a result of early on, some iPhone 16 house owners had been having the exact opposite problem — palm rejection was blocking contact inputs. Now, although, we’re on the level that I’ve caught iOS doing issues once I knew my fingers had been solely near the display, not on it. I made it a degree to concentrate once I first began encountering undesirable contact inputs, considering I used to be simply being a klutz. Apparently I wasn’t.

The bezels on the iPhone 16 Professional are at the very least partly responsible, if not solely. They’re even thinner than on the 15 Professional, leaving virtually nowhere to your fingers to relaxation if you need a agency grip. I am utilizing a fairly thick UAG case, so I can solely think about the difficulty cropping up for individuals who have a minimalist case on their telephone, or no safety in any respect. I would be launching issues each 5 seconds on a unadorned iPhone.

Talking of instances, eliminating bezels typically makes a case necessary, particularly for gadgets with curved edges. It is like they’re designed to crack on the sidewalk. That in itself would not be a giant deal — it is advisable defend a $400-plus cellular gadget regardless — however telephone makers additionally appear to disregard how instances and touchscreens work together. Nowadays, it is not unusual for the lip of a case to dam faucets and swipes, whereas just some years in the past that was a uncommon downside, at the very least in my expertise. Relying on the apps you employ every day, you would possibly end up more and more irritated.

Just a few millimeters of bezel could make a world of distinction on the subject of the sturdiness and usefulness of a telephone. So is there any probability of getting our bezels again?

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The unlucky march of progress

A one-way street

I really feel like I am shouting within the wilderness, sadly. The pattern in the direction of bezel-less telephones has been underway for properly over a decade — what was as soon as a gimmick (totally on Samsung gadgets) is now the default. There’s in all probability no means of speaking telephone makers out of it, particularly since they might level to gross sales being unaffected by complaints. If something, they’d in all probability argue that slim bezels appear to spice up gross sales figures. They’re additionally good for revenue margins, because it means much less cash spent on aluminum, metal, plastic, or titanium. The distinction is perhaps just a few cents per telephone, however that provides up once you’re delivery thousands and thousands of items and wish to determine a provide chain.

The recognition of going bezel-less makes some sense. Many early smartphones had thick bezels, a consequence of the show know-how on the time. As time went on, thinner bezels grew to become a logo of progress, to the purpose that fashionable customers are subconsciously primed for it. Furthermore, shrinking edges grew to become functionally essential to allow the massive shows we’ve now — you would not need a 6.3-inch display in your pocket if it had bezels as thick as the unique iPhone. Trendy folding designs could be out of the query.

Essentially the most we are able to do, I would wager, is make occasional complaints, hoping that telephone makers choose up on them. Maybe there are design workarounds that’ll fulfill everybody — I do know I would be pleased if I might get an iPhone 17 or 18 with an angled lip, which might defend my telephone whereas nonetheless letting me swipe easily between apps. A person can dream, I suppose. There’s simply not a lot probability of combating the tide at this stage.

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